When Hurricane Helene overwhelmed the Swannanoa River with more than 20 feet of flooding, the Veterans Restoration Quarters, run by Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry, was ravaged.
“We’re actually bordered on two sides by the Swannanoa River. So when the water came down the river really hard, it hit us really hard, too,” recalls Ruth Lolo, a volunteer coordinator with the shelter.
Residents, mostly homeless veterans, had only a few moments to gather their possessions before the National Guard evacuated them. Many lost priceless possessions, along with their sense of stability…